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Abandoned asylums around the world

Once state-of-the art mental health facilities, the now abandoned asylums from around the world have their tales.

Often built in secluded areas, careful attention was given to the architectural detail of the buildings and they often resemble a fortress.

Here is just a sampling of some of the world's abandoned asylums.

Traverse City State Hospital in Michigan was established in 1885 as the demand for more psychiatric hospitals began to grow.

From 1885-1924, the institution expanded to twelve housing cottages and two infirmaries, becoming the city's largest employer.

While the hospital was established to care for the mentally ill, it expanded to treat outbreaks like tuberculosis, typhoid, influenza, and polio. During the 1980s, it was used as a drug addiction rehab facility.

Traverse City State Hospital closed in 1989 and the building is currently being renovated into a hotel.

Located in Pittsburgh, Pa., Dixmont State Hospital was once known for its self-sufficient and park-like campus.

The institution opened in 1862 in by 1907, Dixmont Hospital for the Insane had its own farmlands, rail station, post office, a water treatment plant, and electricity generating facilities.

Dixmont was closed in 1984 and demolished in 2006.

Fairfield State Hospital in Newton, Connecticut was opened in response to overcrowding at the other state hospitals.

The hospital opened in 1933 with less than 500 patients, but housed more than 4,000 patients by the late 1960s.

The facility was shut down in 1995.

Located outside of Boston, Danvers State Insane Asylum was opened in 1878, and it rumored to have been the birthplace of the pre-frontal lobotomy.

The hospital originally consisted of two main center buildings, but expanded significantly. Most of the buildings were connected by a maze of underground tunnels.

The asylum was originally established for the mentally ill, but expanded to include a pathological research lab and a nurse training program.

By 2006, most of the buildings of the Danvers State Insane Asylum were demolished. There are few remnants left of the asylum today.

The Northampton State Hospital was opened in 1858 and within six weeks, the number of patients totaled 220.

After close to a century of construction, the institution continued to grow and in 1952, there were 2,331 patients.

The institution was closed in 1993 and all of the buildings on the property were demolished by the end 2007.

Located in Lancashire, England, Whittingham Hospital was the largest hospital in the country, and pioneered the use of EEGs.

The asylum opened its doors in 1873, and had its own church, farms, railway, post office, reservoirs, and brewery. By 1923, the asylum became known as a mental institution.

During the 1970s and 1980s, new drugs and therapies were introduced, but the hospital closed its doors in 1995.

Hellingly Hospital in East Sussex, England was open in 1903, boasting its own railway that was used primarily for the transport of coal.

The hospital closed its doors in 1994, but much of the site remains standing, albeit rundown and vandalized.

Denbigh Mental, also known as the North Wales Hospital, was located in Denbigh, North Wales and was for people with psychiatric illnesses.

The building dates back to 1848, was planned for closure in the 1960s, and some sections were shut down between 1991 and 2002.

West Park Asylum was a psychiatric in Epsom, Surrey.

When the doors opened in 1923, the hospital could house 2,000 patients.

West Park started to decay in the mid-1990s and most of the hospital was closed by 2003. By 2011, most of the wards had been demolished.

High Royds Hospital was located in West Yorkshire, England.

The former psychiatric hospital opened its doors in 1888 and patients lived in Nightingale wards, which were named after Florence Nightingale.

The hospital closed in 2003, and there are plans to convert the site into a new village.

Severalls Hospital was located in Colchester, Essex and opened in 1913.

The psychiatric hospital housed around 2,000 patients, and the site was arranged so that staff could walk around the hospital without going outside.

Severalls closed in the early 1990s and in 2008, the sale of the site fell through.

Cane Hill was a psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon, London that opened in 1882.

The asylum housed up to 2,000 patients in its prime, but was all but empty by the time it closed in 1991.

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